Fantasy buzz: Lots of mouths to feed in Buffalo's 'everybody eats' offense

Everything that happens in the NFL has some additional context when viewed from a fantasy football perspective. From position battles to injuries and so much more, the news cycle will constantly affect player values in fantasy football.

Our fantasy football buzz file, with contributions from our ESPN fantasy writers and our NFL Nation reporters, aims to provide fantasy managers with the intel they need as news breaks around the NFL.

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Sept. 19: Lots of mouths to feed in Bills' "everybody eats" offense

James Cook has 20-plus fantasy points in three straight games, running behind a Bills offensive line that ranks fourth in run block win rate. For the season, 85% of his 284 rushing yards have come on inside-the-tackle runs. Against the Dolphins, he set season highs in snap share (65%), rushing attempt share (70%), and target share (11%). This is exactly the kind of usage and efficiency you want to see. Cook remains a high-end RB2 with RB1 upside. However, beyond Cook and Josh Allen, it's becoming difficult to trust anyone else in this offense. The announcing crew spent a considerable amount of the game talking about the Bills' offensive mantra being "everybody eats."

This is the second straight game the Bills have rotated at wide receiver, with Keon Coleman, Khalil Shakir, Joshua Palmer, Elijah Moore and Tyrell Shavers all seeing snaps against the Dolphins. Coleman (18%) and Shakir (17%) led in route participation, yet both finished with the same 15% target share.

Dalton Kincaid caught five of six targets for 66 yards and a touchdown, not bad on a night when Allen didn't complete a single pass thrown more than 10 yards downfield. But the Bills continue to use a rotation at the TE position. Kincaid played 31 snaps and ran 17 routes, while Dawson Knox played 29 snaps, ran 12 routes, and had zero targets.

One Dolphins note: There's good and bad news with De'Von Achane. The good: he handled 19 touches and scored 16.1 fantasy points against the Bills. Achane played 78% of the snaps, saw 48% of the rushing attempts, and posted a 27% target share. The bad: Ollie Gordon II logged three red-zone rushing attempts after having just one in the first two games combined. Gordon also played 40% of the red-zone snaps compared to just 20% outside of the red zone.

Sept. 17: Justin Fields ruled Out, Tyrod Taylor will start Sunday

The Jets have ruled out Justin Fields (concussion protocol) and will start Tyrod Taylor against the Buccaneers. Taylor, who replaced Fields late in Week 2, went seven for 11 for 56 yards and a touchdown in that game. He clearly trusts WR Garrett Wilson, who caught four of eight targets for 50 yards in Week 2, including three catches for 33 yards when Taylor was under center. Wilson remains a low-end WR1 if Taylor starts. Breece Hall is still a mid-range RB2 for the week.

Sept. 17: Vikings D is streamable with Browning under center for Bengals

Tristan H. Cockcroft: The mounting number of injuries to quarterbacks doesn't only shuffle up the rankings at that specific position. The longer-term absences of Joe Burrow and J.J. McCarthy, and the potential for Jayden Daniels and Justin Fields to miss this week (and maybe beyond?) can have a dramatic impact upon fantasy strategy for those who stream D/STs.

Jake Browning's installation as the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback significantly increases the chances for sacks and turnovers for his opponents' defenses, even if he's taking the helm of one of the more potent offenses in the league. In Browning's seven career starts and two relief appearances in which he played more than half the team's offensive snaps, Bengals opponents averaged 7.11 fantasy points, fueled by averages of 3.22 sacks and 1.22 interceptions. To put those numbers into perspective, the league-average D/ST, since the beginning of last season, has averaged 5.54 fantasy points, 2.41 sacks and 0.70 interceptions per game.

The Bengals were among the top 10 offenses to avoid in my preseason D/ST Road Map column, but now they are more of a middling, if not beneficial, offense to exploit with Browning under center.

Taking stats from only their past 17 NFL starts, here's how defenses have fared against the three other prospective QB fill-ins on a per-game basis in fantasy:

Carson Wentz (Minnesota Vikings): 7.35 FPTS, 2.82 sacks, 0.82 INTs
Marcus Mariota (Washington Commanders): 7.24 FPTS, 2.18 sacks, 0.71 INTs
Tyrod Taylor (New York Jets): 6.59 FPTS, 3.59 sacks, 0.59 INTs

While each of their teams' circumstances are different today than when and where those quarterbacks last played, it's illustrative that each will now start for an offense that is significantly more attractive as a D/ST matchup. In the case of the Vikings, who have also lost starting running back Aaron Jones Sr. (hamstring) for at least the next four weeks, they might have the receiving firepower to benefit Wentz, but his track record of turnovers makes them substantially more appealing as an opposing matchup.

The Vikings and Miami Dolphins, whose opposing D/STs scored 14 and 12 fantasy points the first two weeks, now join my updated top 10 offenses to exploit, replacing the Jacksonville Jaguars and Seattle Seahawks.

The Bengals and, if Daniels is indeed sidelined, the Commanders are out of my top 10 offenses to avoid, with the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys entering.

What that means for Week 3 is that the Bengals-Vikings game, which certainly looked like a high-scoring, bench-the-D/STs affair in advance of the season, is now one of the better games to exploit for streaming purposes on either side. The game's 41.5 over/under (which ties for lowest on the slate) supports that. It also means that, in Week 4, the Denver Broncos' defense no longer needs to be avoided for their "Monday Night Football" home game against the Bengals.

Look for a full update of the team rankings and specific October D/ST matchups to exploit following Week 4.

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